First record of the African Green Bee-eater (Merops viridissimus) in Algeria.
La première observation du Guêpier vert en Algérie.
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During a birding trip to the Wilaya (Province) of In-Guezzam adjacent to Mali, members of the Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association (AWWA) documented another new species for Algeria. On 4 November 2023, the birding party photographed two African Green Bee-eaters in the Tawendert region, Tin Zaouatin, Province of In-Guezzam.
This is the second Afrotropical bee-eater species recorded in southern Algeria after the White-throated Bee-eater (Merops albicollis) which was documented by members of the same team in Tamanrasset region two years earlier.
As usual, the group also recorded other local specialties, some of which were only added to the Algerian list recently. The most important are:
- African Collared Dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea),
- Northern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer griseus),
- African Grey Woodpecker (Dendropicos goertae),
- Chestnut-bellied Starling (Lamprotornis pulcher),
- Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus), and
- Cricket warbler (Spiloptila clamans).
Published in:
Boulaouad, B. A., Missoum, M., Attouche, K., Hadj Aissa, D., Harzallah, B., Ayyach, K., Belkacem M., 2024. First record of the African green bee-eater Merops viridissimus (Swainson, 1837) in Southern Algeria. Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 22: 25–29.